Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge was unsuccessful as his Benfica side were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea.
2025/2026 UEFA Champions League
1-0
Match Report
An own goal from Richard Rios proved to be the deciding factor between the two sides as they both struggled to find their rhythm, with the Blues picking up their first win of the Champions League campaign.
Benfica had two great opportunities to take the lead, with Dodi Lukebakio striking the post before Rios shot straight at Robert Sanchez from close range, and Chelsea punished them soon after as Rios turned Alejandro Garnacho's cross into his own net.
The hosts had a great chance to double their lead on the brink of half-time when Marc Cucurella picked out Tyrique George in the box, but the forward rushed his effort and could only poke it towards Anatoliy Trubin.
It was a largely cagey second half, with both sides struggling to create chances as Chelsea looked to hit the visitors on the counter while defending their lead.
The best chance of the second period fell to Enzo Maresca's side, with Estevao failing to beat Trubin with his header from Enzo Fernandez's cross, but they were able to see the win through to the full-time whistle despite a late red card shown to Joao Pedro for a second yellow.
24 - Chelsea's starting XI against Benfica has an average age of exactly 24 years; their youngest ever for a UEFA Champions League match. Youthful. pic.twitter.com/vLCJzOQdMR
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 30, 2025
Data Debrief: Maresca trusts Chelsea youth in the big time
Maresca opted to play George through the middle to start the match as he rotated his attack, with Chelsea accumulating 0.93 expected goals (xG) from eight shots to Benfica's 0.66 from the same number of attempts.
The average age of Chelsea's starting lineup was exactly 24 years, their youngest-ever for a Champions League match, as the Italian coach's decision to trust in his younger players paid off.
It was a particularly impressive performance from 23-year-old Moises Caicedo, who created two chances and completed 98.4% of his passes (60/61).
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
0' Chants of "Jose Mourinho" at Stamford Bridge in the home end
5' Enzo Fernandez has a go himself, dragging his low shot wide
8' Lukebakio has a shot, fired at Robert Sanchez's near post
11' Garnacho lets the ball bounce and makes it tough, dragging the shot wide
17' Neto strikes it with power but it drags agonisingly wide
18' OWN GOAL! A Richard Rios' mistake gives Blues the lead! Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
36' Gusto makes a foul on Sudakov
41' Match Event for Chelsea vs Benfica
46' Yellow Card! Facundo Buonanotte booked
59' Chelsea attack at pace but Garnacho blasts his shot from range over the bar
73' Neto's header is a little bit high over the bar
79' Enzo loops it over for Estevao, whose header is over the bar
96' Red Card! Joan Pedro Sent Off
Line-ups
Chelsea XI: Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sánchez, Pedro Neto, Badiashile, Enzo, Caicedo, Gusto, Garnacho, Facundo Buonanotte, Tyrique George
Subs: Reece James, Jørgensen, João Pedro, Gittens, Lavia, Jorrel Hato, Josh Acheampong, Max Merrick, Estêvão, Guiu, Reggie Walsh
Benfica XI: Otamendi, Fredrik Aursnes, Dodi Lukébakio, Vangelis Pavlidis, Amar Dedić, Anatoliy Trubin, G. Sudakov, Samuel Dahl, Enzo Barrenechea, Richard Ríos, António Silva
Subs: Leandro Barreiro, Samuel Soares, Tomás Araújo, Henrique Araújo, Rafa Obrador, Andreas Schjelderup, João Veloso, Franjo Ivanović, Diogo Prioste, João Rego, Gonçalo Oliveira, Diogo Ferreira